Bonnetts Abroad Past Trips

Baltic Cruise

Debbie was on the 11:00 AM ferry to Southampton, so drove down and picked her up. Drove to the Mayflower terminal we unloaded the bags, which were taken immediately by the porteers, Left her and drove to the house, left the car and walked back.

Joined the queue to checkin, but when we got to our allocated console, it had gone down so had to wait for a while before swapping to another queue.

When we got to the front of the queue, it didn't take long to get checked in, but there was a reported problem with one of my bags, so had to go and visit securiry. It turned out to be my penknife, which is allowed but they needed to check it.

Had a walk around the ship for a while

Then we headed up to the sail away/royal wedding party, for a free glass of champagne.

We sailed out down Southampton water and then passed the Isle of Wight.

Saturday 19th May 2018

– Southampton

Weather: Dry, good visibility, 2/8ths cloud

Temperature: 17°C

Wind: South Westerly, Force 4

Aurora welcomed her 1806 guests on board for the Baltic Cruise at the Mayflower Cruise Terminal in Southampton. Once all guests were confirmed on board and with departure briefings complete, the Captain gave the order to “let go all lines”.

At 1634hrs the ship was thrust off the berth to starboard. Before coming ahead on the engines into the River Test the Pilot took the conn of the vessel and then proceeded to guide Aurora past Ocean Cruise Terminal and Dockhead and into the narrow buoyed channel of Southampton Waters.

Aurora slowed to a speed of 7 knots as she passed Fawley Oil Terminal to starboard and then maintained 12 knots as she made her two large turns, initially to starboard at Calshot Spit and then to port at Brambles Bank. Passing to the north of the Isle of Wight, Aurora initiated a turn to starboard at 1830hrs, coming to a heading of 158° to use the deep water channel to the east of the New Grounds shallows. On clearing the channel at 1847nhrs, Aurora slowed to a speed of 8 knots to disembark her Pilot at 1851hrs. As the Pilot launch cleared the ships port side, Aurora slowly increased speed, passing to the east of the Nab Tower (a well known landmark which marks the deep water entry into the Solent) at 1859hrs approximately 1.5 nautical miles (NM) ahead of Azura; “Full away on passage” (abbreviated as “FAOP” in the ships logbook) was rung at 1900hrs to mark the start of Aurora's sea passage to Oslo.

Aurora proceeded south east across the English Channel on a course of 115° until reaching a position approximately due south of the Greenwich Light Vessel and altering course port to 075° and joining the north east lane of the Dover Strait Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS). At 2306hrs the Officer of the Watch (OOW) made Aurora's mandatory report to Gris–Nez Traffic on VHF channel 13.

A day at sea, crossing the North sea, dodging the rigs

Attended a cookery demonstration in the morning

Sunday 20th May 2018 – At Sea

Noon position: 53° 58.7°N 004° 37.2'E

Distance steamed since departure Southampton:

335 NM

Weather: Dry, good visibility (fog at times), overcast

Temperature: 12°C

Wind: North easterly, Force 3

Sea state: Calm seas, negligible swell

On the stroke of Midnight Aurora altered course to 017° before coming to 044° on rounding Cap Gris–Nez at OO039hrs. Aurora passed Dover itself at approximately 0100hrs, the White cliffs passing down her port side at a distance of approximately 12 NM.

On clearing the Dover Strait at 0139hrs, Aurora continued north east, following the routeing schemes into the North Sea.

The ships clocks were advanced at O200hrs by 1 hour to GMT +2.

At approximately 1240hrs on exiting the North Friesland TSS, Aurora left the last of the routeing schemes astern and settled onto a course of 032°, this taking her through Dutch, German and Danish waters over the course of the day.

In the morning we cruised up Oslofjord

We did a trip which went to the Viking Ship museum

The Kon–Tiki museum

And the Fram

In the evening we ate in the beach house

Monday 21st May 2018 – Oslo, Norway

Distance steamed since departure Southampton:

755 NM

Weather: Dry, good visibility, 2/8ths cloud

Temperature: 21°C

Wind: South by east, Force 3

Aurora continued on her course of 032° throughout the morning, making her way across the waters known as Skagerrak towards the entrance of the Oslofjord. At 0730hrs “Standby Below” (SBB) was rung and the OOW reduced speed to pick up the arrival pilot on Aurora’s port side at 0745hrs.

With the pilot safely integrated into the Bridge team, he assumed the conn and proceeded to guide Aurora north through the 57 NM transit of Oslofjord.

As Aurora approached Oslo the pilot initiated a sweeping turn to starboard, bringing the ship through the narrows between the small island of Nakkholmen and even smaller islet of Dyna passed to the south of Kavringen, a small rock in the centre of Oslo harbour.

Once safely passed these navigational hazards, the Deputy Captain took the conn of Aurora for the final approach to the quay of about 2 knots he initiated a swing to starboard at 1117hrs before backing Aurora up to her berth.

With both mooring teams confirming “all fast 6 &2” (these figures referring to the number of head/brest lines and spring lines respectively), the Norwegian authorities granted clearance for guests to proceed ashore at 1159rs.

With all quests and crew onboard at 1635 hours, the Master requested “propulsion and thrusters to Bridge control” and gave the order to “single up the lines” (on departure Aurora initially comes down to “4 & 2” lines forward and aft, then “2 & 1” before “letting go all lines”). With the last line recovered at 1649hrs, Aurora thrust laterally off the berth to port before coming “slow ahead” on both main engines and following reciprocal courses to the morning’s arrival back out of Oslofjord.

The pilot disembarked at the entrance to the fjord at 2044hrs before FAOP was rung at 204 8hrs, signalling the start of Aurora’s sea passage south east across the Skagerrak towards Danish waters.

We walked from the Ship, on the quay a local torusit guide gave us a map with a walking route marked on it, so we decided to follow that. Along the waterfront, untik we came across the Little Mermaid statue, a lot of people were there, several coach loads, everyone trying to get their photograph with the statue.

Next stop was Gefion Fountain

Followed by Amalienborg Palace

Back down to the harbour and round the theatre to Nyhavn

Then to St. Nikplas church, where we stopped for a brief rest

We set off again, only in the wrong direction, so had to double back, walking through some nice alleys until we reached the town hall

This marked our furthest point from the ship, We continued following the route marked on the map Thid took us past the round tower.

Into Rosenborg park

Back through Kastellet fort

And returned to the ship, a walk of about 10 miles in total.

Tuesday 22nd May 2018

– Copenhagen, Denmark

Distance steamed since departure Oslo: 280 NM

Weather: Dry, good visibility, 5/8ths cloud

Temperature: 23°C

Wind: South westerly, Force 3

Aurora crossed from the Skagerrak into the waters known as Kattegat in the early hours of the morning, officially entering the Baltic area at OO50hrs. Following various courses from 159° to 167°, Aurora followed the recommended routeing schemes until altering course to the south east in a position 13 NM due west of the Kullen Lighthouse on the Kullaberg Peninsula at O502hrs

Ringing SBB at 0545hrs, Aurora proceeded on this course until reaching the M1 Buoy marking the start of the TSS south to Copenhagen. Reducing speed to 8 knots, the Copenhagen Pilot came aboard at 0610hrs and after receiving his pre-arrival brief from the Captain, took the conn of Aurora for the final leg of the passage.

Aurora’s route took her to the west of Disken Bank and of Ven Island (best known for its connection to the renaissance-era astronomer Tycho Brahe) before @ sweeping turn to starboard brought her onto a south westerly heading for the final approach to the breakwaters of Copenhagen.

The Pilot passed the conn to the Deputy Captain at O806hrs, just before passing between the breakwaters at 0810hrs. As soon as the stern of the ship was confirmed clear, the Deputy Captain reduced speed to 2 knots and swung Aurora, bow to starboard before backing up to the berth at Langelinie C190. Coming port side alongside, both mooring stations confirmed “all fast 6 &2” at O855hrs.

Aurora slipped her lines at 1848hrs bound for Gdynia. Thrusting her laterally clear of the berth before coming ahead, the Master maintained a speed of 3 knots until clear of the breakwaters _ Before handing the conn to the pilot. Following reciprocal courses to the mornings arrival, Aurora proceeded north back past Ven island (but this time to the east of Disken Bank) before dropping off her pilot on passing the M1 Buoy at 2057hrs.

At 2143hrs Aurora altered course to 256° and proceeded west along the northern coast of Sjelland (Zealand in English) towards the Great Belt.

Just ahead of Aurora during this leg of her passage was the Danish royal yacht, “HDMY Dannebrog”

A quiet day at sea, the sea was cakm and the weather was sunny.

Wednesday 23rd May 2018 – At Sea_

Noon Position: 54° 25.8' N 012° 11.6°E

Distance steamed since departure Copenhagen:

223 NM

Weather: Dry, good visibility, 2/8ths cloud

Temperature: 18°C

Wind: Easterly, Force 5

Aurora altered course to a heading of 202° to join the southbound traffic in “Samsoe Belt” (the first section of what are collectively known as “The Belts”) at OO40hrs; proceeding south through the Danish islands using these narrow waters (at Sejero Island for example, the route narrows to 6 cables

in width — a little over 1000 metres) Aurora passed under the eastern section of the Great Belt Bridge at 0519hrs. At 0818hrs she altered course to 122° into the Fehmarn Belt (the stretch of water between Denmark and Germany) and from there maintained a series of easterly and north-easterly courses until entering the Baltic Sea proper at 1313hrs.

Aurora then maintained her easterly courses towards Gdynia, the close of day finding her in a position approximately 25 NM south east of the Danish island of Bornholm.

We'd booked a tour for today, it was meant to be 4 stops but it didn't quite work out like that. The first stop was Malbork Castle.

Unfortunately, when we got to the coach, which had moved to the other side of the castle, we found that we were a couple short, a man who wasn't able to keep up headed back to the original drop off point without telling anyone, and then his wife went looking for him. So we had to drive back around the castle, all of which cost us time.

We had a nice lunch, which was included in the price, of a soup, meatballs and a dessert, with a glass of lager.

After lunch we headed to Gdansk, for a walking tour

Which included a brief visit to the basillica

We were meant to visit solidarity square and Sopot, but we had run out of time so we missed these

The ship had docked next to a slag heap, and so was covered in a fine layer of coal dust when we got back

Thursday 24th May 2018

– Gdynia, Poland

Distance steamed since departure Copenhagen: 490 NM

Weather: Dry, good visibility, clear skies

Temperature: 18°C

‘Wind: Northerly, Force 5

Aurora continued on easterly courses following the northern coast of Poland throughout the early hours of the morning. At approximately O400hrs she passed to the north of Rozewie Lighthouse where she altered course to the south east and entered the Gulf of Gdansk. Aurora then followed a series of courses to round Hel Peninsula, reporting in to Zakota VTS at 0613hrs on passing the Hel Buoy.

Coming onto a westerly heading for the final approach to the harbour, SBB was rung at 0645hrs and Aurora’s speed was reduced to approximately 6 knots to embark the local pilot at O658hrs. Once safely through the breakwaters, the ship’s speed was reduced to 2 knots and the Master initiated a swing to starboard before backing up and thrusting laterally to starboard to bring Aurora alongside at Francuskie Berth No. 27.

Aurora slipped her lines at 1716hrs bound for Visby. With the swing having been completed in the morning she was thrust laterally to port, favouring the bow, before coming “slow ahead” on both her main engines. Maintaining a speed of 6 knots she cleared the breakwaters at 1727hrs and followed reciprocal courses east and north round the Hel Peninsula before settling on a course of 340° for the overnight passage to Gotland.

Friday 25th May 2018

– Visby, Sweden

Distance steamed since departure Gdynia: 204 NM

Weather: Dry, good visibility, clear skies

Temperature: 24°C

Wind: Variable, Force 2

Aurora maintained a north westerly heading throughout the early hours of the morning, her course taking her past Poland’s only 2 offshore installations and across the predominant flow of traffic in the Baltic Sea. Continuing north into the narrow stretch of water between Gotland and the island Oland to the west, Aurora made her way through the TSS off of Utholmen just after O0400hrs before setting onto a north easterly heading for the approach to Visby Pilot Station.

Having made good time overnight, the Master took the Conn and rung SBB 5 minutes earlier than planned at 0640hrs. At the request of the pilot launch, Aurora maintained a speed of 7 knots and, at 0646hrs, picked up her pilot on the starboard side. With the new berth at Visby providing a simple approach Aurora was brought bow in, port side alongside Berth 14 at 0723hrs. On this occasion due to the lack of tides in the Baltic, both mooring teams confirmed “all fast, all lines on the brake”; Aurora’s mooring winches have the ability to be set to auto-tension thereby adjusting the lines for any rise and fall in the tide through the day; however it was unnecessary on this occasion.

With all quests and crew back onboard for 1741hrs, Aurora slipped her lines at 1801hrs. Simply reversing the morning’s arrival, she was thrust laterally off the berth to starboard and brought astern to clear the “dolphins” at the end of the quay. When at a safe distance, the Master initiated a swing, bow to port before setting half ahead on both main engines to attain 7 knots for disembarking the pilot. FAOP was rung at 1820hrs and Aurora set courses to follow the west coast of Gotland north. Altering course to 067° at 1939 hours, Aurora used the two way route along Gotland’s north coast before altering to 053° on passing between the islands of Faro and Gotska Sandon.

Saturday 26th May 2018 – At Sea

Noon Position: 59° 33.5' N 023° 24.5'E

Distance steamed since departure Visby: 205 NM

Weather: Dry, good visibility, clear skies

Temperature: 19°C

Wind: Easterly, Force 3

Aurora maintained her course throughout the morning. At O200hrs the ships clocks were — advanced by 1 hour to GMT + 3 for her visit to Russia and the Baltic states.

At 0705hrs, the OOW reported in to Tallinn Traffic and notified them of Aurora’s entry into the “Gulf of Finland Reporting System” commonly referred to as “GOFREP”. The TSS’ in the Gulf are monitored by three different countries - namely Estonia (which controls the eastbound lane to the south of the Gulf), Finland (which controls the westbound lane to the north) and Russia (which controls all traffic east of 026° 30’ E). Aurora entered Russian waters at 2005hrs, joining with the rest of the vessels bound for Russian ports; from this point on the TSS lane narrowed to 1NM across.

Grifffon

Aurora

Outside the Hermitage

Throne Room

Ball Room

Da Vincis

Corridor

Lunmch Caviar, Strogonoff, Champagne

River cruise, Aurora

Another ship, restaurant

Inside St. Issac's Church

Inside St. Issac's Church

Yusopovs palace

Yusopov Palace Theatre

Yusopov Palace Rasputin

Sunday 27th May 2018

– Saint Petersburg, Russia

Distance steamed since departure Visby: 432 NM

Weather: Dry, good visibility, 6/8ths cloud

(clearing later)

Temperature: 22°C

Wind: North easterly, Force 4

Continuing along the eastbound lane in the early hours, variously increasing and reducing speed for collision avoidance as required, Aurora settled onto a heading of 092° at 0118hrs for the final approach to Saint Petersburg pilot station. Due to the extremely confined waters of Saint Petersburg, the Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) operates a convoy system. Reporting in to VTS on passing Buoy No. 8, the OOW confirmed Aurora’s pilot boarding time of 0400hrs at the head of her small “convoy” — the other vessel being the passenger ferry “Nordic Lubek” 5 minutes astern.

With both the Bridge and ECR manning levels increased, SBB was rung at 0345hrs and Aurora started reducing her speed to 6 knots for picking up her pilot. The starboard pilot ladder was rigged and the pilot came aboard at O0405hrs. As is customary in Saint Petersburg the pilot, after conducting the “\Aactar/Pilot Fychanaqe” accitimed the conn of the ship. On passing the Kronshtadtskiy Korabel’t Fairway Buoy, Aurora altered course to 105° t the buoyed channel and passed through the defences on Kotlin Island at 0445hrs.

Aurora exited the buoyed channel into the he basin at O625hrs, where the Deputy Captain, taking the conn back from the Pilot, initiated turn to port and brought Aurora alongside st. side to quay at 064 8hrs.

With 2 deck 4 gangways “rigged, ready and s use”, the first quests were free to proceed asl at O720hrs and enjoy the overnight stay in Sa Petersburg.

St. Catherine's Cathedral

Catherine's Palace

Peterhof Fountains

Metro

St. Peter and Paul Cathedral

Church of the Spilled Blood

Monday 28th May 2018

– St. Petersburg, Russia

Weather: Dry, good visibility, clear skies

Temperature: 17°C

Wind: South westerly, Force 3

All guests and crew were back onboard for 1& and so the Master gave the order for “10 min notice to SBB”, the final order from the bridg: ECR for propulsion and thrusters.

With the engineers having everything “flashe in a timely manner the order to “let go” was 1814hrs and all lines were recovered by 18211

Thrusting laterally to port, the Master lifted A\ off the quayside by about 50 metres and the holding the stern in position, swung the bow As she came onto a westerly heading both m engines were put “half ahead” and the St. Pet Pilot took the conn.

Maintaining a speed of 11 knots, Aurora folloy reciprocal courses back out through the buoy channel about 2 NM astern of the Regal Princ

Tuesday 29th May 2018

– Tallinn, Estonia

Distance steamed since departure St. Petersb

195 NM

Aurora exited Russian waters at 0238hrs, how she continued to follow the westbound lanes Gulf of Finland TSS’ until, at O535hrs she alter course to port and crossed the eastbound lar entry to Tallinn VTS area.

With the controlled approaches to Tallinn bei some 10 NM in length, SBB was rung at 0615! off the Uusmadal shallows. With the Master « conn, Aurora reduced speed to approximatel knots and picked up her pilot on the starboar at O628hrs before coming to a heading of 15 entering Tallinn Bay. In a position 1.5 NM nor the quay, Aurora’s thrusters were “flashed up’ switched to bridge control at which point the transferred all controls to the starboard wing final approach.

With the intention to berth starboard side to the Master reduced speed in stages, bringing Aurora to a stop off the berth and thrusting |. to starboard to bring her alongside Berth 27. 0732hrs.

With everyone confirmed back onboard at 1€ Aurora’s engineers made her propulsion and thrusters available for bridge control at 1638! Taking advantage of the favourable condition control of Aurora was placed in the hands of. her Second Officers. Under the Master’s guic he proceeded to thrust Aurora off the berth 1 before almost immediately coming astern. V the forward mooring deck confirmed that he was Clear to swing, the Second Officer starte< turn Aurora bow to port (to look at the mano it would seem to make more sense to swing bow to starboard, this being the shorter dista tiirn Anvwraver it alarayve makac cance tn work 1 ship rather than against her; on coming astern | Aurora demonstrated that she had a tendency to swing to port).

Aurora left Tallinn Bay to the west, dropping off her pilot at 1746hrs before following the Estonian coast south towards Riga.

Aurora continued skirting the Estonian coast through the early hours of the morning, entering the Irbe Strait at O226hrs. The Irbe Strait is the deep water route into the Gulf of Riga, however at its narrowest point is only 1 NM in width. On this occasion Aurora encountered very little traffic in the Strait, meaning a relatively uneventful transit for Aurora’s bridge team.

Clearing the Strait a little after O400hrs, Aurora rounded Kolka Lighthouse to starboard and entered the Gulf of Riga proper. Maintaining a course of 136° Aurora proceeded south east towards Riga.

SBB was rung at 0730hrs before Aurora picked up her pilot at O0756hrs. Due to the confined approach at Riga, the Pilot took the conn and maintained a maximum speed of 8 knots through the outer mole breakwaters. 2 cables (1 cable being a tenth of a nautical mile) from the berth, the pilot handed the conn back to Aurora’s Master who swung Aurora, bow to starboard before coming astern onto berth MK-3.

With customs clearance granted at 1007hrs the first quests proceeded ashore at 10101hrs.

Aurora’s departure pilot reported onboard at 1858hrs, 10 minutes before the last guests returned and Latvian customs cleared Aurora to sail. With the last pre-departure checks completed, SBB was rung at 1933hrs and Aurora slipped her lines at 1938hrs. Thrusting laterally to port, Aurora came off the quay back out into the river where the pilot assumed the conn and guided Aurora clear of the harbour.

Aurora followed a reciprocal course back out of the Gulf of Riga, once again using the Irbe Strait. In contrast to the mornings arrival however there was a significant amount of traffic in the Strait necessitating a reduction of speed to about 10 knots.

On clearing the Irbe Strait in the early hours of the morning, Aurora altered course to 231° almost performing a “u-turn” around the Mihailova Shallows, and proceeded south along the Latvian coast.

Aurora entered Lithuanian waters at O655hrs passing between numerous LNG tanker anchorages before turning onto a heading of 093° for her final approach to Klaipeda. SBB was rung at O840hrs before the pilot joined the ship at O856hrs. With the tug TAK-5 accompanying her, Aurora entered the breakwaters at 0920hrs and commenced a sweeping turn to starboard, following the buoyed channel upriver. Due to the extremely narrow confines of the berth, Aurora had to be swung through 180° almost 1 NM downriver from her berth. The Master completed this turn at O944hrs and commenced backing the ship up to the berth at a speed of about 2 knots. The berth at No. 29 is bounded by 2 extremely shallow banks and so Aurora had to be thrust laterally to starboard by almost 200 metres to gain the quayside.

With the manoeuvre successfully accomplished, 2 deck 4 gangways were rigged ready for the first guests ashore at 1039hrs.

With all quests and crew back onboard at 1812hrs, Aurora’s crew worked to complete their pre- departure checks for 1830hrs. Aurora slipped the last of her lines at 1838hrs and the \laster started to thrust her laterally to port. As with the merning’s arrival Aurora’s was prevented trom coming either ahead or astern until well into the deep water cf the buoyed channel, however when clear of tne shal ow banks, the Master proceeded to come siow ahead on both main engines before handing the conn tc the pilot for the river passage.

Aurora cleared the breakwaters at approximately 1910hrs and then, about a mile beyond the entrance to the river, reduced speed to approximately 8 knots and dropped off the pilot via her port side ladder.

Transiting to the north of the fairway buoy, Aurora passed the US Navy vessel USS Oak Hill who was on her final approach to the harbour, before setting a course of 248° for the evening which would take her west across the northern edge of the Gulf of Gdansk.

Friday 1st June 2018 – At Sea

Noon position: 54° 46.3' N 013° 18.9°E

Aurora continued on south westerly courses until 0935hrs, when she altered course to 286° to skirt the northern coast of the German island of Rugen.

A little after 1300hrs she once again altered course to the south west, coming to a heading of 237° and entering the TSS’ in the “Kadetrenden Channel” between the Danish and German coasts.

At 1605hrs Aurora once again entered “The Belts”; joining with the northbound traffic, she followed “Route Tango” and commenced the penultimate leg of her passage out of the Baltic Sea.

Aurora passed under the eastern span of the Great Belt Bridge at 2058hrs.

*Saturday 2nd June 2018

– Skagen, Denmark

Distance steamed since departure Klaipeda: 585 NM

Aurora left “the Belts” on passing to the south of the shallows known as “Shultz’s Ground” at approximately 0030hrs and entered the waters of Kattegat again.

At O200hrs the ships clocks were put back 1 hour to GMT + 2. At approximately O200hrs she passed to the east of the island of Anholt and altered course to 340°, maintaining this course until reaching Kummel Bank at O400hrs and altering course to the north west for the final approach to Skagen.

SBB was rung at 0645hrs before Aurora started reducing speed to pick up the local pilot. With the ship proceeding “bow in”, her speed was held at about 6 knots for passage through the breakw 2t2rs before being reduced in stages to about 2 knczs *or the final approach to the berth.

Using the thrusters to bring the ship laterally alongside. starboard side to quay, the Master gave permission for both mooring teams to “send their springs ashore” (spring lines lead in a fore and aft direction and are used to control any ahead or astern movement when alongside); as soon as the ship was in position the Master gave the order to “check your spring forward” whereby the Officer in charge forward took the weight on the spring line t check the ships residual forward momentum.

With all guests and crew back onboard for 1630hrs, Aurora slipped her mooring lines and was thrust laterally off the quay to port. Opening the stern (opening a larger distance from the quay at the stern than at the bow) Aurora was brought “slow astern” through the breakwaters. On receiving “bow clear of the breakwaters” from the Officer in charge on the forward mooring deck, the Master swung Aurora through 180° “o Dring her onto her departure heading before coming

scot aA - : : c a7 e2dc oF TT) ancines.

After drono 7g 2 ner pilot, Aurora came to “full ahead” on betn arc 72s to attain her planned speed for this leg of 19 knots. *s 77= Cav wound down, Aurora officially left the Baitic $22. -cunded the north coast of the Jutland Per rs_ 2 2-d set a south westerly course into the North S22.

*Sunday 3rd June 2018 – At Sea

Noon position: 54° 00.7' N 004° 20.1E

Distance steamec since Skagen: 323 NM

Aurora continued south west across the North Sea and entered the TSS at North Friesland a little before Midday

Following a series of south westerly courses through the lanes, Aurora passed the Foxtrot 3 light vessel off of North Foreland Point at about 2140hrs before entering the Dover Strait at approximately 2230hrs.

Aurora’s track took her to the north of the Varne Bank (é notorious shallow in the middle of the south west traffic lane) which she found herself clear of at about 2350hrs.

Monday 4th June 2018

– Southampton, UK

Distance steamed since departure Skagen: 642 NM

Aurora’s clocks were put back 1 hour to GMT +1 at O200hrs. At O330hrs new time, SBB was rung and Aurora altered to the north to board the Southampton Pilot at the Nab Tower to the east of the Isle of Wight. Once safely on board the Pilot then assisted the Bridge team with navigating the vessel through the Southampton approaches, first passing the St. Helen’s anchorage. Heading west, Aurora followed the northern coast of the Isle of Wight and shortly after Cowes began her first turn, to starboard, at Brambles Bank. The second turn, this time to port, at Calshot brought Aurora onto a heading of 323° passing Fawley Oil Terminal to port at a reduced speed of 7 knots. Once abeam of Dock Head the Captain took the Conn and slowed the vessel to approach the swinging area. Aurora swung bow to starboard and came ahead on her engines to berth port side to the quay at Mayflower Terminal, officially ending her Baltic cruise with the first mooring lines ashore.